


You Scratch My Back ...

by KoreFanFic



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Catra is Bad at Feelings (She-Ra), Catra thinks its one sided, Drinking, F/F, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Glimmer (She-Ra) is a Good Friend, Lesbian Adora (She-Ra), Lesbian Catra (She-Ra), Oblivious Catra (She-Ra), One-Sided Attraction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Pining while fucking, Protective Catra (She-Ra), Scorpia (She-Ra) is a Good Friend, Shameless Smut, Smut, Spoiler its not, Tags Are Hard, Trans Perfuma (She-Ra), Transphobia, fuck buddies, slow burn (feelings)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:26:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25123882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoreFanFic/pseuds/KoreFanFic
Summary: **ON HIATUS. LIFE PROBLEMS. I WILL BE BACK I SWEAR.**Friends with Benefits. People do it all the time. And it works for them. So why wouldn't it work for Catra and Adora?Well because Catra has had a crush on Adora for years for one.Nothing bad could come of that... Right?*random updates. Literally just as I go*
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 84
Kudos: 312





	1. Get Dressed

**Author's Note:**

> Before anyone starts! I KNOW I have other fics to work on but hear me out!
> 
> While I was moving house I binged all of She-Ra and I fell in loooooove with these two dorks. I had to get this out my system! So yes I am adding this to the list of fics I'm doing. I can handle this. I got this. I think. Anyway! Enjoy my first (of many) Catradora fic!

“Hey Adora,” Catra purred from the doorway.

“Hey Catra,” Adora mumbled over the pen lid in her mouth but didn’t look up from the paper she was hunched over. Catra’s sly smirk fell into an annoyed scowl at being ignored and she unfolded her arms from across her chest. 

Catra kicked the dorm door closed behind her, careful not to catch her tail, before she gracefully made her way across the room, flopping down onto Adora’s single bed with a dramatic sigh and eyed her best friend.

Adora still didn’t look up.

Catra frowned again, this time rolling her eyes for good measure as she threw herself back to lie down, her entire body sprawled out across the bed. 

“Adora!” She snapped when the blonde still didn’t give her any attention.

“What?” Adora groaned, her eyes still fixed on the paper. 

“Hello? Earth to Adora? It’s me! You’re best friend in the whole entire world come to take you away on a wonderful life-changing adventure! Pay attention to me!” Catra rolled over and waved a black clawed hand in front of Adora’s face, wafting the edge of one of the white sheets a little. 

Adora sighed making the pen lid whistle quietly, her thick shoulders heaving and she finally lifted her head, dragging her eyes away from her work and locking on her nuisance of a friend. 

“I can’t go drinking with you tonight, I have work to do,” She said flatly, the pen lid wobbling in between her teeth, knowing full well that Catra’s idea of a “wonderful life-changing adventure” meant getting shit face drunk at the college bar and racing the sun home. 

Catra scoffed at her friend's words, lying her head down on Adora’s pillow and propping her arm underneath her thick brown mane. 

“Don’t be such a dork! You can do the homework tomorrow! Let’s go get wild!” Catra glanced over, her mismatched eyes twinkling with mischief like they always did. 

“I can’t do my homework hungover, Catra,” Adora pointed out, raising a dark eyebrow at her. 

“Well by the bite marks on that pen lid, you ain’t doing it sober either,” Catra pointed a long-clawed finger towards the lid poking out of the side of Adora’s mouth. Adora’s grey-blue eyes flicked down before she spat the deformed pen lid across the floor and scowled at Catra. 

“I’m just stuck on one bit! I’ll get it. Eventually,” She added sheepishly, her lips screwing up to the side as she avoided Catra’s piercing gaze.

“Riiiight,” Catra drawled, hitching an eyebrow at her, giving her a slow nod. “Anyway, get dressed! Let’s go get fucked up!” Catra swung herself up into a sitting position and swung her arms out in front of her. 

“Catra I really have to-” Adora tried to protest but Catra was already on her feet, her clawed hands wrapped around Adora’s wrists and was pulling her up from her chair. Adora would have resisted if it hadn’t been for the devilish grin on her friends face. That damned grin had gotten Adora into more trouble than it was worth, but she could never say no to Catra. Well, not for very long anyway.

“Come on Adora! Quit being such a boring idiot and let’s go have some fun!” Catra pleaded as she tugged Adora to her feet and towards her closet, her fingers wrapped around her friend's wrists just tight enough to keep control, but not tight enough to hurt her. Adora hung her head as she let Catra lead her away from her work and towards the other side of the room. Maybe one day she’d be able to get her own way when it came to Catra, but not today. 

Catra yanked open Adora’s closet with one hand and shoved her towards it with the other. She didn’t wait to see if Adora was going to do as she was told, she always did, instead, she turned to throw herself back down onto her friend's bed and pulled out her phone, opening up the messenger app and tapping a clawed finger on the group chat. 

The “Best Friend Squad” came to life and filled up her screen and Catra repressed an eye roll at the chat name. Stupid Bow had named it, and when Catra had changed it to “Idiot Squad” for the tenth time, he’d taken away her admin privileges so she couldn’t do it any more. Which also meant she couldn’t change everyone’s names in the chat when she was drunk or bored or both. 

Catra typed out a message to the group, informing them that Adora was getting ready and that they’d join them in the bar in a half-hour. A string of positive emoji’s popped up in response from everyone in the chat and Catra held back her third eye roll of the hour. 

Her gaze lifted from her screen for a split second but quickly darted back down when she caught a glimpse of Adora’s bare back. Catra ignored the hot flush that ran across her face and focused all her attention on her phone. She was painfully aware of the sounds of Adora getting undressed now and her large ears twitched as she continued to ignore every reaction she was having to it. 

She’d been crushing on Adora for years, but they’d been friends for much longer, which made Adora a “no-fly zone” in Catra’s eyes. Not that it had stopped her from looking a few times, but she was always careful to never look for too long. It was a stupid, one-sided crush that would go away in time. Or at least that’s what Catra had been telling herself for years and if she kept telling herself that it would have to happen one day. 

It was easier to convince herself those feelings would go away than it was that Adora would ever feel the same way. In the entire time she’d known her Adora had never even given the slightest hint of thinking about Catra that way. And that was okay. Because it was just a crush that was going to go away. Any day now. 

“I’m not getting too drunk this time? Okay? I don’t want to be locked out of my dorm. Again,” Adora told Catra over her shoulder and Catra chanced looking up to see she’d at least put a grey sports bra on. But she was still shirtless and her bottom half was just in a pair of gym shorts as she stood with her back to Catra, scanning her closet for something to wear. 

“That was one time!” Catra retorted, trying really hard not to appreciate the sight of Adora’s toned back. She dragged her eyes away and stared aggressively at her phone, the group chat flying past her eyes but none of it registering. The heat in her cheeks still wasn’t going away either.

“No, it wasn’t! It’s been like four times! This semester! I’m not even counting last semester!” Adora bit back with a laugh. “And I don’t think I can go. I have nothing to wear,” She added with an exasperated sigh. 

“Bullshit. You have plenty to wear! Where’s that red dress? You look great in that!” Catra heard the words out her mouth before she could stop them and felt herself choke slightly. Adora didn’t bat an eye at the comment though as she tilted her head to the side, her blonde ponytail swinging behind her as she accessed her wardrobe. 

“Yeah, I guess. I just... I don’t know. I just don’t feel like it,” Adora shrugged, placing her hands on her bare hips as she let out a sigh. 

“Uh... Are you okay? You don’t sound like you’re about to have the best night ever with your best friend,” Catra pointed out as she frowned at the back of Adora’s head. 

“Hmm? Yeah. I’m fine. I think I’m just stressed from lack of... you know,” Adora shrugged again and trailed off. 

“Sleep?” Catra added as she raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Uhm... Well... Yes... But also... Uh...” The back of Adora’s neck went bright red and Catra could practically hear the sound of Adora blushing. She watched as Adora pulled her hands away from her hips and folded them across her chest before she turned to face her best friend. Sure enough, her entire face was crimson as she chewed on her bottom lip, her light blue eyes avoiding Catra’s curious gaze. 

Catra’s blue and yellow eyes went wide as her brain clicked on what Adora meant. 

_Oh._

“Oh,” Catra nodded slowly in understanding, then she frowned. “Wait a minute, how?” Catra barked, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. She found it hard to believe someone as attractive as Adora was struggling to get laid.

Adora’s face burned, her eyebrows shot upwards and her shoulders hitched up to her ears as she leaned against the frame of her closet and her eyes lifted to Catra’s for a second before they dropped back down to the floor.

“I don’t know,” She mumbled, tightening her grip on her own arms. “Maybe I’m just stressed with class stuff, but right now the idea of even attempting _that_ with anyone right now just sends me into a freak-out. Which then makes me more stressed. Which makes the idea of doing anything about it even more frustrating,” Adora kicked idly at her carpet as she frowned. 

Catra was used to Adora being honest with her about everything, it was something Catra wished she could do back, but she never could. Plus Adora was honest enough for them both, if Catra added anything to it, it would be overkill. Or she’d admit something she didn’t want to. 

“How long has it been? Since you weren’t stressed?” Catra pried, trying not to think about how long she’d been _stressed_ for. 

“A while,” Adora sighed, throwing her head back behind her with a thud. 

They sat in silence for a minute. Catra watched Adora from the corner of her eye, while Adora stared blankly at her wall. 

Catra took in a deep breath through her nose before she spoke, breaking the quiet between them.

“Well, tonight we’ll fix it! Come on! Get your ass into something hot and let's go get you a pretty girl to go home with,” Catra chirped confidently as she leapt to her feet and moved to stand next to Adora. Her blonde friend looked her up and down, her arms still firmly folded across her chest. 

“Catra, it’s fine. I’m fine. I’ll just have a few drinks and come back to the dorm,” Adora protested weakly.

“Yeah, with a woman on your arm. That’s what I said. Let’s go. Now take that off and change into a proper bra. If I had a chest like yours I wouldn’t be hiding it under a damn sports bra,” Catra nudged Adora’s ribs with her elbow before she started looking through her closet to find her something to wear. 

Adora opened her mouth to argue but clearly thought better of it, instead, rolling her eyes and pushing herself off the closet door. A second later Catra’s vision was obscured by grey fabric. When she realised it was Adora’s sports bra her breath caught in her throat and she froze, her tail going poker straight as she stood in the doorway of the closet, rooted to the spot. 

The sound of Adora’s throaty giggle from behind her made her muscles relax but she carefully kept her eyes fixed on the white shirt that was hanging a few inches from her face as she listened to the sound of Adora rifling through her dresser for a bra. 

Catra yanked the sports bra off her head and tossed it to the floor just as Adora came up behind her and leaned an arm over her best friends shoulder. 

“So are you planning on wing-manning me tonight?” Adora asked playfully, leaning her face against Catra’s and smiling widely. 

“Well someone has to. You’re clearly hopeless when left to your own devices,” Catra bit back, flicking Adora on the end of her nose.

“My devices work just fine!” Adora retorted. Catra let out a wheezy laugh as she shook her head at her.

“Clearly. That’s why you’re wound up tighter than a ball of yarn,” Catra pointed out as she went back to going through Adora’s clothes. Why did she have so many white turtle necks?

“Does that mean even you’d have a hard time with me?” Adora purred lowly in Catra’s ear, the faintest lump rising in her throat from a mixture of what Adora had said and how close she was to Catra’s ear when she’d said it. That was one side of their friendship Catra got frustrated with. Adora had no idea about Catra’s crush on her, so behaving like that was purely platonic and harmless to her. Catra’d had to master hiding her reactions to it, from fear of being caught out. 

“As if. You’d be easy to deal with,” Catra scoffed, shrugging Adora’s toned arm off her shoulder and grabbing two hangers from the closet and turning to shove them into Adora’s chest, which her quick eyes totally hadn’t managed to catch a glimpse of before she’d covered her with the black shirt. “Now, here. Get dressed. Idiot Squad is waiting on us,” Catra gave Adora a tight-lipped smile before she slipped past her and threw herself back down onto the bed, making sure to face away from Adora.

“You call them names but you like them too,” Adora called over her shoulder.

“I tolerate them for you. If you stopped hanging out with them so much I’d be happier,” Catra lied. She did like them. Even if they were more of Adora’s friends than hers.

“Want me all to yourself?” Adora teased as she pulled her shirt over her head. 

“No. Just less of them,” Catra snorted, mindlessly scrolling through her phone, pretending she hadn’t just lied twice.


	2. Drunk Adora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The "Best Friend Squad" are all out for drinks!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNING:
> 
> Mild transphobia.

“Adora! Catra!” Glimmer squealed from across the crowded bar as she leapt out of her seat and waved at the two friends so hard Catra was sure she was going to dislocate her shoulder. Bow politely waved from the seat next to her, a warm smile on his face as they approached. 

“Hey, guys! Sorry, we’re late. It was my fault,” Adora apologised as she pulled a chair out and sat down. 

“They know. I told them,” Catra snorted from beside her, not sitting down but throwing her jacket over the chair next to Adora to lay save her seat. “I’m gonna go to the bar. Beer?” Catra jerked her clawed thumb over her shoulder as Adora looked up at her and gave her a small smile and nodding. She turned to put her hand in her pocket but Catra waved her off. 

“Don’t be stupid, I’ve got it. You guys good?” She asked Bow and Glimmer who both nodded, Glimmer pointing to her almost full glass of wine in front of her and Bow lifting his bottle of cider to his lips. Catra nodded firmly at their friends before she turned on her heel and cut across the room to the bar to get her and Adora a drink.

By the time she got back, the three friends were hunched over the table, talking excitedly amongst themselves. Catra put down Adora’s beer on the table as she slid into her chair next to her, not paying attention to whatever they were chattering about. Her blue and yellow eyes gave them a once over before she turned her attention to the rest of the room.

It was fairly busy, even for a Friday, with college students cluttering the place in small groups. She recognised a few of them from her own classes but there was no one she wanted to talk to. Everyone she was willing to tolerate tonight was already at their table. Well almost. Some of the idiots were still to show up. 

Not long after the rest of their friends emerged from behind a group of people next to their table and joined them. Perfuma immediately joined in the conversation with the other three, while Mermista and Seahawk bickered quietly in the corner. Catra didn’t bother trying to figure out what, it could have been anything with those two.

Catra leaned an arm over the back of her chair as she took a drink from her glass, letting the bitter liquid wash down her throat, refusing to winch at the burn. Their nights out always started like this, quiet, casual but eventually they picked up. Catra would normally end up getting a round of shots, which would lead to Adora demanding another round. She liked shots, not that she could handle them very well. After a couple of them, she would be falling over herself and Catra would have to carry her back to the dorm. Not that they always made it to the dorms, sometimes getting distracted and doing something stupid. Like that time they somehow ended up walking past the campus fountain and Adora insisted on playing in it. 

She had gotten her wish, while Catra had stood a good few feet away, arms folded, tail tense as she tried not to show how on edge Adora’s drunk splashing had made her. She had also had to fight horrifically hard not to react to the sight of a soaking wet Adora, laughing and playing in the fountain, her white turtle neck going almost see-through and sticking to her abs as she stomped around the fountain.

“Catra?” 

Catra blinked and her head snapped around to face Adora who was watching her, her eyebrows dented in concern. 

“What?” Catra half spat at her, fidgeting in her chair as she frowned back. She was really glad mind-reading wasn’t real or she would be in so much trouble.

“Are you okay? You looked like you were a million miles away,” Adora quizzed her, leaning back in her own chair, leaving the rest of their friends to continue their conversation. 

“Yeah. I’m fine. I was just... thinking,” Catra muttered, taking another drink from her glass. She needed to get her head out her ass. “I’m fine,” She added shortly. 

Adora nodded, raising her eyebrows slightly. She grabbed her beer from the table and brought the bottle to her lips as Catra tried not to watch her. 

They sat in silence for a while, just watching as everyone else had their own conversation. Mermista and Seahawk had calmed down and were talking to the rest of them, although Mermista still looked pissed. Glimmer had leaned back into Bow, who had his arm draped over her shoulder as he waved his free hand around while he spoke. Perfuma was listening intently, her big eyes wide as she soaked in every word he said while Seahawk rambled back to Bow, his arms flailing around his face. 

Catra’s eyes flicked over to Adora, who was smiling to herself as she watched her friends talk. She had such a genuine smile. It was never forced or for show. If Adora was smiling it was because she was happy, something Catra admired but also envied slightly. 

Blue eyes flashed over to meet mismatched blue and yellow ones and Catra felt a lump abruptly spawn in her throat as the smile widened. 

“Thanks for dragging me out,” Adora said quietly, reaching over to nudge Catra playfully on the knee with her elbow. “I needed this.”

Catra righted herself and gave Adora a smug smirk.

“I told you so. You can do all that boring homework tomorrow! Now let’s get wasted!” Catra laughed, draining the last of her glass before she slammed it down on the table. “Shots!”

“Already?” Adora flinched, her eyes going wide. “Isn’t it a bit early for that?” 

“Pfft. No. Shut up. Come on!” Catra waved her concerns away with a clawed hand before she got to her feet and grabbed Adora by the wrist. “Help me carry them!” She pulled her up out of her chair and headed straight for the bar, not bothering to tell their friends they were leaving. They knew the routine by now.

***

An hour and three rounds of shots later and Catra was feeling warm and relaxed as her and the other girls headed to the restroom. She didn’t get why they all had to go but she didn’t really care, she really needed to pee. 

“Oh, and I can’t wait until Monday! I’m helping replant the flowerbeds near the water fountain! Someone tipped them over but that’s okay because I’m going to get Bow to help me nail them down so it doesn’t happen again!” Perfuma chirped from behind Catra and for a second Adora’s eyes met hers and they shared a knowing look before they turned away, both trying to hide the guilt on their faces. They both knew who had knocked the flowerbeds over but there was no need to tell Perfuma. 

“That’s great Perfuma! I’m free on Monday if you want I could help you?” Glimmer offered cheerfully as Adora pushed the bathroom door open. 

“That would be wonderful, yes! The more the merrier! Does anyone else want to help?” Perfuma clapped her hands together happily, her wide eyes scanning the group excitedly. 

“Don’t look at me, I’m busy Monday,” Catra said quickly as she followed in behind Adora, the sound of two girls chatting happily meeting her ears as she entered the bathroom. 

“No, you’re not, liar. She’d love to help. I’ll help you too,” Adora chimed in and Catra silently snarled at her as Perfuma stepped in between them. Catra briefly registered the sound of the two strangers going quiet as they all filed into the small restroom. 

“Uh, I guess I’ll help too,” Mermista groaned from behind them, as enthusiastic as always.

“Fantastic! We can go for lunch afterwards!” Perfuma beamed at them all. 

Catra rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to say something when someone speaking cut her off.

“What are _you_ doing in here?” A strangers voice came from behind them and the group of friends all turned to see two girls standing by the sinks, their stances mirroring each other as they stood with matching scowls, their arms folded across their chests. 

“Uh using the bathroom, what else?” Catra bit back, raising an eyebrow at them both. Neither of them looked at her, instead, they were both continuing to glare. At Perfuma. 

“You shouldn’t be in here,” One of them said, ignoring Catra completely and if that wasn’t enough to piss her off, the way the girl spoke to Perfuma was. Her voice was thick with venom as her scowl deepened. 

Catra felt her upper lip curl and her eyes darted to Perfuma who was twisting a large chunk of her blonde hair in her fingers as she chewed on her bottom lip nervously. 

“I-I’m just here to use the bathroom I-” Perfuma stammered, her eyes darting between the two girls.

“Your bathroom is down the hall,” The girl bit back icily, pointing a finger towards the door. 

“No. This is her bathroom. You seem to be confused,” Catra said quietly, her eyes narrowing on the one with the mouth. 

“Hey now, there’s no need for this,” Adora started, reaching an arm around Perfuma’s shoulders as she glared back at the two girls. 

“There is a need for it. I don’t feel safe with _him_ , in here,” The girl spat, her finger now jammed towards Perfuma. 

A sudden burst of rage shot through Catra’s chest at the girl's words, made worse by the audible wounded whimper that came from Perfuma behind her. 

At the same time, Mermista and Glimmer took a step in front of Perfuma as Adora pulled her back, trying to get her as far away as possible in the small bathroom. Catra, on the other hand, had other ideas. She was across the room in a flash, grabbed the mouthy woman by the front of her dress and shoved her up against the sink behind her, leaning right into her face as she growled viciously in her face, her teeth bared aggressively. 

The other girl yelped and took a step back as Catra tightened her grip on the girls dress. Fear shot through the girl's eyes as Catra leaned her face less than an inch away from hers.

“It’s not _her_ you should be worried about. Now apologise to my friend before you find yourself going home without a face,” Catra snarled through clenched teeth. The girl in her hand opened her mouth to say something but closed it again as words failed her. The only sound that came out was a weak croak as her wide eyes refused to shift from the snarling woman pinning her against the sink. 

“Did I fucking stutter?” Catra hissed, pushing the girl backwards, making her arch her back over the sink. Her hands clawed desperately at the countertop as she tried to get some purchase.

“Catra, it’s fine really,” Perfuma mumbled quietly and Catra could hear the hurt in her voice. She was crying, silently but she was still crying. 

“It’s not fine. This fucking ass-hole owes you an apology before I skin her right here and now,” Catra hissed, her narrowed eyes not leaving the frightened girls. She tightened her grip on the girls dress again and heard the sound of the cheap-feeling fabric tearing under her claws. 

“I-I’m s-sorry! Okay! Let go of me!” The girl finally managed to choke out. Her eyes flashed over Catra’s shoulder, pleading with Perfuma behind her. “I’m really sorry! I take it back!” Her bottom lip was quivering and Catra could see the rims of her eyes going red as tears threatened to leak any second now. 

Catra gave the girl one last growl before she let go of her dress, letting the girl drop a few inches onto the counter. 

The girl and her friend didn’t hesitate to scramble for the door, the mouthy one gasping and swearing under her breath as she stumbled into the corridor outside. Catra glared after them, not moving as she heard the sound of their footsteps fading down the hall. 

It wasn’t until Perfuma let out a strangled sob that Catra shifted, turning just in time to see a tall blonde blur throw itself into her arms. Catra froze, her tail going bushy as Perfuma squeezed her tightly.

“Catra! You didn’t have to do that but thank you! You’re a good friend!” Perfuma sobbed into Catra’s mane and she winched, reaching up to push Perfuma off of her. 

“Ah! What the- Get off me!” Catra complained as finally pried Perfuma away. 

“Thank you,” Perfuma repeated as she stood back and gave Catra a watery smile. 

“Yeah, whatever, don’t mention it,” Catra rolled her eyes and headed past the annoyingly soft looks on all their faces. “I’m going to pee. Try not to get into trouble while I’m gone,” She grumbled over her shoulder. 

As she sat in the toilet stall, listening to the sound of her friends making sure Perfuma was alright, she scowled at the back of the stall door. She hated people. She hated bigoted ones more. Catra could try to pretend that there was some self projecting reason for defending Perfuma, given that if they had an issue with her they’d no doubt have an issue with Catra and everything she was, but that wasn’t even a factor in it. 

She’d jumped to her defence because Perfuma was her friend. And if anyone attacked her friend they were going to have to deal with Catra’s unfiltered anger over it. 

Soon the girls were all heading back to the table, Perfuma having washed her face and plastered on a big grin before they’d left. Catra was following behind them, her eyes scanning the crowded bar for the ass-hole from before, just in case. 

“I think you scared her off,” Adora said lowly as she fell into step with her friend and Catra scowled at her. 

“I wasn’t-” Catra started.

“Uh-huh,” Adora gave her a knowing nod. “Sure you weren’t. I’m going to the bar, you coming?” Adora jerked her head towards the bar behind her.

“Yeah, sure,” Catra nodded, her eyes giving the room another once over. 

Adora told the rest of them they were going for more drinks and waved as the three girls disappeared into the crowd, back towards their table that was now lost in the sea of people.

Catra grabbed Adora’s wrist and tugged her through the crowd.

“You’re just all over me tonight,” Adora smirked as she caught up behind her, standing a little too close for Catra’s liking. Well not completely.

“Fuck you,” Catra nudged Adora in the ribs as they reached the bar.

“Pfft, someone should,” Adora replied, bursting into a dorky giggle followed by a loud snort that pulled a smile from Catra. 

“You’re a dork,” Catra shook her head as she leaned on the stained wood. 

“That’ll explain why no one has then,” Adora scoffed as she slid in next to Catra. She was really close again. 

“Don’t be stupid,” Catra snapped playfully. “Get another drink in you and let’s get you hooked up with someone,” Catra tried to wave down the barman but he was busy at the other end. Catra gave up with a sigh and looked back over at Adora who was hunched her own arms. 

“Don’t bother. I’m fine. I just want to relax now and get drunk with my best friends,” Adora sighed. 

“Why not do both? Get drunk with us then get laid,” Catra pointed out. 

“It’d probably be a wasted effort honestly,” Adora said quietly and Catra didn’t miss the way her tone shifted from playful to sombre. 

“What are you talking about? Anyone in here would be lucky to go home with you!” Catra protested, waving a hand towards the rest of the bar. 

“Hardly,” Adora mumbled. 

“Excuse me? You’re like painfully attractive Adora. It’s really unfair,” She spat out before she knew what she was saying. When she heard her own words though, her eyes went wide and she froze. Her eyes slowly drifted to Adora who was looking at her with her lips parted slightly, her eyes fixed on Catra. Catra had to force herself to not look at her lips. 

_Don’t do that. Bad territory._

“You really think that?” Adora asked quietly, straightening her back as she looked at Catra.

“Well, yeah. I’m not blind. Don’t let it go to that big forehead of yours,” Catra tried to cover, looking away and trying to wave the barman down again. He saw her this time and nodded. She kept her eyes on him as he headed over and the two friends ordered their drinks. 

“You’re so hot and cold sometimes Catra,” Adora mumbled as the barman turned to get their drinks.

She glanced over from the corner of her eye and watched Adora sigh into the bar, her broad shoulders heaving.

“Yeah well you’re a dork all the time,” Catra shrugged, nodding a "thanks" to the barman as he handed them their drinks. “Now how about we skip the pity party and get drunk?” Catra flash Adora a wild grin, receiving a small smile in return and they both took a long drink together. 

Catra called the barman back and ordered another round of shots which she had fully intended to take back to the table but somehow Catra and Adora never made it back to the table, instead, having the entire round between themselves. 

She had no idea how much time passed or how many shots, but the next thing she knew she was heading out of the bar, with Adora laughing loudly beside her at something. The sound of her laughing made Catra grin a bit too widely and she kicked herself internally for it. 

They headed across the dark street and towards the dorms, the cold night air making the fur on the back of Catra’s next stand on end and her ears twitch. She’d left her jacket back at the bar but she really didn’t want to go back for it. She dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone to type a message to Glimmer to grab her jacket for her, but her eyes wouldn’t focus on the keys properly. 

She stopped walking, sticking her tongue out as she tried to focus, swaying ever so slightly. 

“Whatcha doin?” Came a loud shout from beside her, as Adora threw her arm over Catra’s shoulder and leaned her head on her. 

“Forgot my jacket. Askin’ Sparkles to get it for me,” Catra explained as she tapped her thumbs off her phone’s keyboard. That looked about right. Kinda.

“Pffft. Lemme do it!” Adora slurred over her shoulder and before Catra could stop her, Adora had reached both her arms around Catra’s waist and was trying to text around her, her chest pressed up against Catra’s back as she rested her chin on Catra’s shoulder, her thumbs slamming aimlessly on the keyboard.

“Adora! Behave!” Catra snapped, trying and failing to pull the phone away from her very drunk friend. 

“Ha no! I’m doing it! Look I’m you! I’m big mean scary Catra! Hiss!” Adora cackled in Catra’s ear as she imitated a hiss and scratched at the air in front of her. 

“Haha, very funny. Now quit it!” Catra tried to lift her phone away from her again and this time Adora let go, only so she could wrap her arms around Catra’s waist fully and hugged her tightly. 

Everything stopped. Catra stood, cemented to the spot in the middle of the street, her phone held above her head, with Adora wrapped around her. Catra’s heart was thunder violently in her chest, threatening to burst out of her ribcage at any minute. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach raging outright war on each other at the feeling of Adora’s body pressed up against hers and it was enough to make her lungs stop expanding. 

The final straw was when Catra felt Adora nuzzle her face into Catra’s neck, ruffling Catra’s hair. Catra officially couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think, nothing was working. The program that was Catra had stopped working. 

“Mmm,” Adora hummed into Catra’s neck, sending warm vibrations through her entire body.

_This is bad._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if the bathroom scene was upsetting, but I had a random idea of how to show off protective Catra and it wouldn't leave me alone. Anyway! I hope you liked this regardless! 
> 
> Find me on twitter and tumblr! 
> 
> [ TUMBLR](https://koreartfanfic.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [ TWITTER](https://twitter.com/KoreArtFanFic)


	3. Everyone Does It.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drunk Adora has an idea. Catra can't decide if it's a good one or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is having a good weekend! Thanks to everyone who's read and commented on this so far! You guys are so sweet!

“Uh, hey Adora?” Catra asked in a whisper, her entire body locked up tight in Adora’s arms.

“Hmm?” Adora hummed again, making Catra’s insides react painfully. 

“What-What are you doing?” Catra swallowed hard. The brain fog from the shots was still clouding her judgement and she was fighting with herself. The urge to turn around was getting stronger with every passing second Adora kept holding her. Catra could feel Adora tighten her hold on her waist, pulling her closer to her as she rubbed her nose against Catra’s neck again. 

“This!” Adora muttered before she leaned backwards and lifted Catra up, her feet dangling off the ground as Adora spun around on the spot, laughing loudly in Catra’s ear. 

“Ah! Adora! Put me down! Adora!” Catra shrieked as Adora continued to spin them both, still laughing. 

“Never!” Adora cackled as she lifted Catra higher, keeping her pressed against her chest.

“Adora! Put me down now!” Catra flailed her arms as she kicked her feet wildly, her tail curling around Adora’s forearm as she closed her eyes tightly and tried to fight off the wave of nausea the spinning was causing her. 

Finally, Adora slowed and lowered Catra to the ground, staggering slightly as she grinned down at her, while Catra stumbled away, glaring over her shoulder at her friend. 

“What?” Adora shrugged, giving Catra a crooked smile. 

“You are an idiot!” Catra snarled, trying to steady her stomach as she leaned over and grabbed her knees. 

“Pffft. I thought we were going on an adventure tonight? Hmm? Or have you chickened out already?” Adora teased, folding her arms across her chest. Catra shook her head and frowned back. 

“I hate you,” Catra said firmly, straightening herself up and taking in a deep breath of cold air. 

“No, you don’t,” Adora laughed lightly. Her eyes suddenly widened and her mouth fell open as she looked over the top of Catra’s head. “I’m hungry! Let’s go eat!” She yelled, striding forward and grabbing Catra by the back of her shirt and dragging her down the street. 

“Adora! What the hell? Let go of me!” Catra cried out, clawing at her friends hand weakly as Adora pulled her towards a small take out place that was lit up, clearly still open. 

“I want a burger! I’m hungry,” Adora said simply as if it was totally normal to go for a burger in the middle of the night. Catra grumbled quietly as she gave up resisting and let Adora take her towards the lit-up shop. 

This was stupid, but so was Adora when she was drunk and yet Catra was always the one pegged as the “bad influence” from everyone. Which she was, she wasn’t denying that, but Adora was just a nuisance. It was like alcohol cut off her connect to her brain and some weird back up power supply of idiocy took over. 

Catra was growling quietly to herself as Adora bounced excitedly up and down next to the counter of the small take away shop. She’d ordered the greasiest sounding burger on the menu, while Catra had looked at her in disgust and she was now watching the guy behind the counter cook it for her with the dorkiest look on her face. 

It was hard for Catra to stay genuinely mad at her when she looked like that, but that didn’t stop her pretending she was still pissed. She couldn’t have anyone thinking she had a soft spot for her. 

“After this, we should go swimming!” 

“Fuck no!” Catra snapped, shaking her head furiously. 

“But I wanna!” Adora whined, taking her big eyes off of her food long enough to look pleadingly at Catra.

“I said no! I’m serious!” Catra drew the line at water. Something Adora was always trying to push. 

“Fine,” She huffed back, sticking her bottom lip out in a comical pout. Catra couldn’t help the high pitched laugh that fell out of her lips at the sight. 

“You’re an idiot,” Catra scoffed as she leaned her chin on the back of her arm, grimacing in disgust as the smell of Adora’s burger met her nose and she recoiled, shaking her head and pulling back. “Oh my god! That smells awful!” Catra lifted her arm to cover her nose and glared at Adora. 

However, Adora didn’t seem to think it smelled awful at all. She was practically drooling as she clapped her hands together and gawked across the counter as the man loaded her burger into a small styrofoam box and handed it over to her. She thanked him half a dozen times before she turned and headed towards the door, grinning from ear to ear and never taking her eyes off the small white box. 

Catra followed behind her, her nose pressed against the crook of her elbow as she tried to keep the horrible stench out of her nostrils, but it was no use. It was an aggressive smell that seemed to soak through her arm and into her nose. 

_Why does she have to eat like this?_

Adora stood with her back against the open shop door until Catra had stepped outside, her eyes still fixed on her food. Once they were both standing on the street her eyes finally snapped up to look around them. She turned her head side to side until she found something of interest and her face lit up. 

“Over there!” She blurted out, pointing across the street towards a bench nestled underneath a large tree. Catra didn’t even have time to argue before Adora grabbed her arm and was dragging her across the street. 

“Adora I’m not a child I can cross the street without you holding my hand,” Catra complained but Adora didn’t let go.

“I don’t want to lose you,” Adora said simply over her shoulder, still holding Catra tightly.

“Oh yeah, wouldn’t want to lose me in this busy crowd,” Catra drawled sarcastically, gesturing with her free hand towards the empty street around them. 

“Shut up!” Adora laughed as she reached the bench and threw herself down onto it with a thud. 

“I’m not sitting next to you while you eat that,” Catra said firmly, placing her hands on her hips as she eyed her friend's food box with disgust. 

“That’s why I sat here! You can sit in the tree!” Adora chirped happily, lifting her head back to look up into the big tree that towered over them. 

Catra’s eyes followed Adora’s and she smirked. She rarely got to indulge in tree climbing, she’d gotten tired of the weird looks she’d get whenever she did it. But when it was just her and Adora she could do whatever she wanted. Adora never judged her for how she behaved.

A few minutes later, Catra was lying sprawled across a thick tree branch, one leg propped up, the other hanging loosely from the tree as she stared up into the thick leaves above her, the faintest hint of moonlight shining through the branches as Adora happily ate her burger a few feet below her. Catra could still smell the horrid thing but it was nowhere near as bad as it had been when she was standing next to her, so it was a sweet relief. 

She heard Adora sigh beneath her and she tilted her head to look at her. She watched in silence as Adora tossed her empty food box in the bin next to her and she spun around on the bench to lie down. She grinned up at Catra when their eyes met, which Catra returned in kind. 

“That was really nice of you to defend Perfuma back there,” Adora said suddenly and Catra’s eyes widened at her words. She frowned, turning to look back up into the tree.

“It was nothing. The girl was being an ass-hole,” Catra muttered as if that fully explained why she’d pinned her against the sink and threatened to rip her face off. She’d have done it too. 

“It wasn’t nothing. It was great. You’re great,” Adora snorted from below Catra and she forced herself not to look down at her again. The small compliment wedged itself in her chest as she tried to pretend it wasn’t the most important thing in the world to her right now. That would be stupid. 

“You’re a dork,” Catra muttered back, her own way of saying something nice. Adora was a dork. But it wasn’t a bad thing. It was one of the things she liked about her. She was different from everyone else and she didn’t care. She did what made her happy, without so much as a second thought on if other people approved or not. It was cute.

“Uh-huh,” Adora agreed lazily. “You know what I also am? Stressed!” She groaned loudly. Catra let out a small snort.

“I told you, you should of let me wingman you in the bar. But noooo,” Catra waved a hand above her face as she spoke. “Princess Adora wanted to just take a boatload of shots and wander off into the street instead!” 

“It was stuffy in there!” Adora protested loudly. 

“We can always go back now that your fed,” Catra suggested.

“Nah. I’m good. I don’t wanna go through the effort of making a new friend tonight,” Adora sighed from the bench. “You know what I need?” She called out, lifting her hands above her head and interlocking her fingers together. 

“More shots?” Catra scoffed, using her previous experience with drunk Adora to guess.

“No. Well yes! But no. I need a fuck buddy!” She declared loudly into the night. Catra’s face went crimson as she focused her eyes on a single broken branch above her head. 

“Uh...”

“Just someone I know. Who I don’t have to like start from the beginning with! It would get rid of so much of the pressure! You know?” Adora exclaimed loudly. 

“Right,” Catra nodded, glancing down briefly. Adora was looking right at her, her big blue eyes glistening in the dim light. 

_Why is she looking at me like that?_

“Hey, Catra?” Adora asked, her voice lower than normal.

“What?” Catra asked cautiously.

“Wanna be my fuck buddy?” Adora asked, wiggling her eyebrows at her. Catra had to physically bite her own tongue to stop her self from replying too quickly. She was drunk. And drunk Adora was an idiot. She didn’t mean that.

“Okay, you need to go to bed,” Catra said firmly, grunting loudly as she sat up. She swung herself out of the tree and on to the grass beside the bench, where Adora was still lying, watching her. 

“Is that a yes?” Adora teased. 

“You’re an idiot. Let’s get you back to your dorm so you can sleep this off,” Catra reached down to lift Adora from the bench with a laugh, trying her best to shrug off Adora’s question. She was ninety per cent sure she was just being drunk and playful. But that other ten per cent was kinda mad right now. 

Suddenly Adora was standing, towering over Catra with her unfair height advantage. Catra tried to take a step back but the back of her legs smacked off the bench and she couldn’t move. 

“You didn’t answer me,” Adora pointed out quietly and Catra tried to swallow the solid lump in her throat but it wouldn’t go down.

“I ... uh... Adora, come on. You’re drunk. You don’t mean it,” Catra tried to laugh it off, but it came out more like choking sound.

“What’s wrong? Am I not your type?” Adora poked Catra’s shoulder playfully, her eyes narrowed slightly. 

_Why was it so hard to talk?_

“I... I ... no, it’s not that it’s just... We’re friends,” Catra reasoned weakly. It was hard to string sentences together with Adora so damned close to her. 

“That’s half the point though? Isn’t it? Friends with benefits. It’s not like we’d be dating. It'd just be a stress reliever,” Adora pointed out and Catra could feel her heart hammering in her ears, thudding against the back of her skull. 

“Well, yeah I guess but wouldn’t it be weird?” Catra was struggling to talk over the dryness in her mouth.

“What’s weird about it? Everyone else does it,” Adora shrugged. 

“Pfft, like who?” Catra challenged her. She didn’t know anyone who did that. Not with their best friend anyway.

“Uh, Mermista and Seahawk for one,” Adora said smugly. 

“Wait really? Since when?” Catra choked, her hands falling to her sides in shock.

“The last like six months? How did you not know this? It was literally in the group chat?” Adora chuckled at her. 

“I don’t read that damn thing half the time,” Catra scoffed, folding her arms across her chest. 

“Hey, if you don’t wanna then fine. I just thought that you might be up for it seeing as ...” Adora trailed off, turning to leave.

“Seeing as what?” Catra narrowed her eyes at the blonde, biting the inside of her cheek as she watched her intently. 

“Well, I’m not stupid Catra. I’m not the only one going through a dry spell for god's sake. I just figured you’d want to de-stress too. But if I crossed a line, I’m sorry,” Adora shrugged again, pressing her lips together in a tight line as she took a step backwards. 

“I mean... You’re not entirely wrong,” She mumbled. 

_Am I really considering this?_

“So... what do you say? You scratch my back and I scratch yours?” Adora tried to be suave but the attempt died on its feet when she let out a snort at the end and her hand flew up to cover her mouth as she laughed. “Sorry, that was awful. But you know what I mean,” she added from behind her hand. 

Catra eyed her up and down for a second, thinking. She was serious. 

And Catra was seriously considering it. 

“You honestly think that’d be a good idea? To make that kinda decision while drunk?” Catra pried, wondering just how much of this was just a drunken idea.

“Who says I haven’t been thinking about it for a while?” Adora pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her in defiance.

“Have you?” Catra raised one right back.

“Maybe,” Adora avoided eye contact with her this time. 

This was a bad idea. A very bad idea wrapped up in an even worse idea being covered in liquid disaster. 

“Why not,” Catra shrugged. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hope you liked this chapter! I kinda got distarcted by starting something else by accident (oops!) 
> 
> Find me on twitter and tumblr! 
> 
> [ TUMBLR](https://koreartfanfic.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [ TWITTER](https://twitter.com/KoreArtFanFic)

**Author's Note:**

> HI! Hello! This hasn't been forgotten about I SWEAR! Life things have just kinda gotten in the way! I'm sorry! Please forgive me! I'll be back to this and the CPOP one soon I promise! I'm so sorry!


End file.
